A Teen Summer
A Teen Summer by Nyoko It was summer in Japan. It was really hot for one day in July during 2393 and 14 year old Miss Honda was sent off to her uncle’s home in the mountains of Shikoku. She had finished 8th grade and had expressed Deeping interest going into space as starfleet officer when she grew up. This of course didn’t scare the Honda parents. After all Hayoto was becoming known as an ace helmsmen and such fame star struck his only daughter. Though times were changing, space was no longer safe as it was during Hayoto’s earlyer years of service. The Klingon Empire had become embolded and although the Romulan Empire had become a shadow of it’s former glory. The Klingon Empire had taken it’s revenge upon the shattered empire. The federation was in the mits of peace talk, after peace talk, trying to bring peace and stability back to the galaxy. Though the kinship shared with the federation during the last war had all become a distant memory. Hayoto like any good parent wanted to support his daughter in whatever she decided on doing. Nyoko’s parents feared something dark on on the timeline to come, something that may question the very foundation of the Federation. How far will the Klingons go? Many asked themselves in the early years of their conquest in the Romulan Neutral zone. The Honda’s were Samurai in the ancient times. Her uncle, and her grandfather, and his father’s father had traced the blood line all the way to the ancient world of Japan. Her ancestors were nobles that ruled over a manner in the central island of Japan. Although that meant nothing in this day-an-age it had a lot of sentimental value among Honda family. It would mean that should one of the Honda children may grow up to go to war. Those who do will stand among their ancestors as samurai, defenders of state and citizens. No grater honors can the Honda family respect then such. Thus Hayoto, his older brother, and younger sister, had decided to raise there children with the skill and confidence needed to be worth of the name Samurai. Hayoto was convinced Nyoko was military bounded. She wanted to fly, she wanted space walk, she wanted to set foot on strange new worlds, and boldly go. Hayoto her father could only smile with pride to Nyoko’s resolve. He and his wife knew they needed to prepare their daughter. She would need to learn discipline, honor, the passion, the duty that once defined the samurai So there she was dripping in her own sweat due to the blazing heat of the sun and the thick humid air that surrounded her. She had carried this bucket of water up 832 steps each morning just as her uncle instructed her to do. She hated this task so much that she just wanted to spill the entire bucket down the steps in an act of defiance. One morning she did throw that damnable bucket down 200 steps but such actions were rewarded with a smack, and stern command to start all over. Nyoko’s poor little hands had become so rough carrying what seemed to have been an ancient bucket. She even though on more than one occasion how such an antique did still existed. The bucket was made of wooden planks held in place tightly by an iron ring, and the wooden planks had warped and swelled over the decades, maybe even century of its creation. During one of her many rests where she placed the bucket down on a step she thought to herself. Good Lord! It’s 24th century, why does he need water from the brook at the bottom of all these damn steps! But she gripped the single metal handle of the crooked bucket and continued to haul it up. What the skinny 15 year old didn’t realizes however what this morning chore was doing to her. Her legs, arms had become more toned then they had ever been during her childhood sports activities. These weren’t’ all that had benefited from a ridged chore schedule Nyoko had endured for the last three summers. Her shoulders, her back, her abs had all benefited. Finally on that one scorcher she reached the top of those 832 stone steps that must have been etched into the side of these mountain millenniums ago. Certainly these steps were made before man even believed they could reach for the stars. The chore had become easier and easier and she finally had gotten to the point where she was completing it quicker then she had ever done before. She had grown in strength, And discipline. When she final reached that last step she looked up to see her uncle watching in surprise. “Ojasan ka?” Nyoko asked in utter confusion. “Nyoko-chung” her uncle answered in their ancient language. She only watched in wonderment. “It’s time to teach you what your parents sent you here to learn.” “Come.” He commanded and turned about and walked along. So Nyoko’s martial arts training began. She no longer had to carry that bucket up those steps and the task had set the foundation of her physic that would stay with her on into her Starfleet training. So excited she raced after her uncle looking forward to doing something new then chores and despite all her excitement. Little Miss Honda was strongly disappointed. Her job had been replaced with equally boring training techniques. At the start she was told at the start of dawn to stand on one foot and then when lunch came around and she had thought she might be given a break. Her uncle told her to switch feet and disappeared back into his house. One boring training technique after the next she began to realize that each task had meaning much like her fetching water from the brook did. By the next summer he had began teaching her all the martial art moves of her ancient people. This summer past so quickly that Nyoko found she was wishing for more summer. Hey uncle had been teaching her at the dawn of each day the ancient hand to hand combat of her people. Slowly she learned the logic behind each move, each attack, each defense, and what combat maneuvers those could lead too. She stood there one Moring at her neutral stance waiting for her uncle to test her. The two waited for the rising sun to illumine there sparing square. Once it did he came at her in a flurry of blows. She blocked each one just as she was taught the summer prior, but his momentum forced the 90 pound girl back. Each fore arm block, each deflection, and each dodge forced her step back. She was at a loss she had no clued how to stop it. Then it came in hard. He had changed his pattern drastically, and she wasn’t prepared. He slammed his fist into her face knocking her from her feet and on to her side. “Focus!” he yelled at her. She tried to get up but he kicked back down. “Advantage!” he yelled at her again. She rolled out this time trying to get back to her feet. Her uncle moved in and caught her neck between his index and thumb pressing two pressure points perfectly. He squeezed. “Control!” he yelled at her. She squirmed and cried and she had never known pain growing up. Not like this. Not to the extent of being hapless. “Do you understand?” He groweled at her. Nyoko at the pinnacle of tears and sobs cried out, “hai!” Then he let her go and with a trust of his hand threw her back to the ground. Nyoko curled up in a ball and cried. Despite what seemed like torturer to Nyoko her uncle always manipulated her into coming back for more. He did so with clever tactics by sharing with her secrets, and promising her cyrptical to teacher legendary moves with fancy names. But little did the young teenager know such techniques were only for the movies. By the time she was she was 17 she had been called out to the sparring square before day break much like the last time he decided to test her. Just like last time right dawn hit he came at her with a furry of blows that would have destroyed her had one connected. Swiftly Nyoko blocked, deflected, and dodge. She didn’t give ground this time, he confidences was with her. She lunched her own attacks flurry of blows of her own. She added kicks, and grabs, which her uncle tried to reveres on her but her nibble body was too fast. Then she took her uncle by surprise by doing something drastic. She ignored his attack taking a blow to the face and as he came in to grab her she slipped her leg in between his and give him a knee to the groin he would never forget. Then with slight shove of her elbow she tipped the mentor over and she advanced on him. She wanted so much to give him his own lesson about control, and focus, and blah, blah, blah. However she didn’t. She kneeled down to him and said softly. “I’m sorry uncle, can we go eat rice now?” “Heh, Y-yes, nyoko, w-we can” he said in between gasps By the end of that summer, Nyoko had mastered all the techniques she ever needed to know. From that day forward it was a matter of practice now for speed, experience and accuracy. That was her last summer her uncle had passed the following winter. For something that probably could have been curable with modern medical science. Though his way was traditional, he believed to be how it should be. Category:Short Story